Infernal Torment, Divine Redemption
by Ahrimal
Summary: The Chosen thought it ended with Belial Vamdemon. How wrong they were. The fate of the world depends on two. One forgotten returns. The other discovers that he is not mortal, yet only a shadow. In saving the world, can even fallen angels find redemption?
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: This is going to be a Digimon/ Demon: the Fallen crossover. Takes place some time after Belial Vamdemon. It will become increasingly AU from the "official" ending. If such themes as demons and religion and all that bother or bother you, please don't read. Digimon doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Toei, Bandai, etc. Demon: the Fallen belongs to White Wolf. None of these characters are mine. Concepts and backgrounds also belong to the aforementioned. This is my first try at fanfiction, so please read. It's eventually going to be Ryou/Ken, since there are so few stories about my favorite pairing. One sided Daisuke/Ken at the beginning, may become Daisuke/Wallace. I am planning a lot of pain and angst before Ryou and Ken find their way back to one another's arms. Enjoy  
  
**************  
  
Ken sighed, languishing in the darkness of the room. To say that the events that had passed today were not exactly pleasant would be an understatement.  
  
[i]"Ken, don't you have an answer?" Daisuke pressed.  
  
"Daisuke, gomen nasai. For some reason the prospect makes me extremely uncomfortable. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. However, since you are pressing for an answer, then I have to say no." Ken sighed in unease.  
  
"Doushite?! Am I not good enough for you?"  
  
"Daisuke, onegai, try to understand. You were the first one to accept me. For that, I am forever in your debt. I am eternally grateful to you. If I could, then I would like you the way you want me to, but I just can't. For some reason, I'm just really nervous about this."  
  
"Ken, who is he?"  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"Who's the guy you're in love with? There's no other logical reason why you'd be holding back."  
  
Daisuke's voice was starting to rise in pitch.  
  
"Daisuke, if I knew the reason, I'd be forthright with you, but I don't know. There are just little patches of memory that keep assaulting me. It's as if the mirror of my mind has broken into tiny pieces. Pieces that are emerging and trying to put themselves back together. I just have a very uneasy feeling about entering a serious relationship with you. There's something in the mists of my mind, from my forgotten memory that's trying to tell me something else. I don't know why, but for both of our sakes, I don't think we should do this. It would only end in disaster and sorrow, for us, and for. many others as well. "  
  
"Well, if you feel like living your life for yourself instead of being lead around by all this superstitious nonsense, let me know!!" Daisuke shouted and then stormed out.[/i]  
  
Months had passed since Chosen from across the globe had gathered to battle and defeat Belial Vamdemon. Since then, life had carried on, much like usual. People had become more aware of the digimon, of course. It was up to the Chosen Children to educate people in this matter, to improve ties with the digimon. Taichi's natural leadership tendencies had shown through in this area; the older Chosen were all busy helping him and carrying on with their own lives as well. Yamato was aiming to be a professional rock star. Sora was busy with flower arrangement, and Mimi was trying out to be a model. Jyou was busy with medical school, and Koushiro was swamped with digital world research. The younger ones had gotten on with their lives as well. Iori was busy with kendo. Miyako was immersing herself in programming. Takeru was busy with basketball, and Hikari was trying out ballet. Daisuke had seemed happy enough, as usual. However, he had consistently been seeing Ken and dropping not-so-subtle hints that he really liked Ken and wanted to take their relationship to a more serious level. The other Chosen all thought Ken would be extremely happy. However, Ken was extremely uncomfortable and quietly but very firmly opposed when faced with this possibility. Ken's dreams had been increasing in frequency and clarity; dreams that he eventually figured out were memories from a forgotten time and were finally reasserting themselves. He had tried to stall for time, saying that he needed to think about it. He had hoped to get Daisuke paired up with someone else. However, Daisuke was extremely stubborn and would not be swayed. Eventually, the tension had become too much and had resulted in that argument where Ken finally admitted he did not want to enter such a relationship with Daisuke. The older ones were puzzled by Ken's reaction, but they chose to stay out of the affair and said that it was Ken's decision to make. The younger Chosen varied in their reactions. Iori and Miyako were resentful towards him, feeling that he had deliberately hurt Daisuke. Takeru and Hikari were supportive of Ken's decision and advised him to give Daisuke time to come around. Ken had tried hard at first to like Daisuke that way, but in the end, he ultimately found that he did not have any such feelings for the chocolate-haired boy. Ken liked him very much as a friend, but that's as far as he wanted to go. Furthermore, he had told the truth when he had stated that the forgotten but steadily reemerging memories had subconsciously warned him strongly against trying such a relationship. That had been enough to convince Ken that he should not get into a relationship with Daisuke. He didn't know why the memories guided him in this direction, but he needed to trust that it was for the best, lest he end up doing something he would deeply regret. It was almost as if he felt he would be committing infidelity. But towards whom? That information he had yet to extract from the mists of his mind. As if his personal love-life did not give him enough to worry about, there was also the stimulus that had triggered his subconscious, causing his already emerging memories to begin returning at an increasingly accelerated rate and sharpened the strange dreams. A very major global event had occurred just several weeks ago. Everyone had talked about it for days, but then it had died out, like yesterday's news, discredited as a hoax. He, however, had remembered it distinctly, and it was still haunting him. He had been watching television when the broadcast had been interrupted to show a live recording from Los Angeles. The City of Angels had suffered a very devastating earthquake that had leveled about half of the city, thus prompting what the local police called the Devil's Night Riot. People had gone ballistic. There was robbing, murder, and probably much worse. Some women had even pinned a policeman to a car and skinned him alive, while many onlookers observed and chanted in animalistic, bestial fervor. It had gone on for three nights, but suddenly, it stopped when a large massive, figure of light in the shape of a dragon had appeared above Los Angeles. Everyone in the immediate vicinity had instantly lapsed into a coma, or their minds were probably messed up for life. Ken himself could understand when he saw the ancient and eternal beauty, splendor, and glory of that creature, whatever or whoever it was. It's as if Ken saw all the light at the dawn of creation pour forth from this creature. All the light that there ever was and ever would be in creation, all contained in this glorious being. It almost seemed to him that the entity was an angel, one of the elohim. But come on. Such creatures didn't really exist, right? A little voice in his head had countered his assumption. It proceeded to reason that if digimon could exist, then why not elohim? Ken decided to remain open to the possibility. The last thing which troubled him was that he remembered the creature speaking in a very strange language. The language seemed ancient beyond imagining, and seemed to resonate with reality itself. It seemed to be singing and speaking at the same time, as if all human languages had originated from this tongue. The first tongue.Enochian? Furthermore, Ken had actually been able to understand it, or at least receive a basic impression, almost as if the ability were in his blood. That creature had seemed to say, "I stand ready to oppose any and all." Why was it that seeing the elohim had caused his memories to come flooding back even more quickly? Ken also couldn't understand why for some reason, he was able to take comfort from the entity in his time of trouble. Exhausted, he decided to think about this in the morning and lapsed into a much-needed sleep. Once again, he dreamed.  
  
Note: Please be nice. Reviews and opinions would be much appreciated. 


	2. Chapter 2

Far away, in Austria, many were gathering in an abandoned monastery, out in the mountains. At first glance, one would have thought that they were regular humans. However, closer observation and continued lingering would reveal them to be something very different. Some had arrived through rifts that seemed to lead to realms wracked with howling winds, the fetid smell of the dead, and murky, decaying backgrounds. Other had arrived through portals. The rest seemed to twist existing paths to shorten the distance they had to walk. They were anything but human. They seemed to be in a grand convention of sorts, busily milling about exchanging information and discussing this or that with their colleagues.  
  
"My searches have taken me far into the Shadowlands, but I have finally found that elusive spirit. He proved to be a most obscure figure, but he was willing to answer my questions. He provided some information that could very well fill in some of the missing holes. He seemed to be rather anxious about the welfare of his living, younger brother, the young one called Ichijouji Ken, if I remember correctly." reported a Halaku.  
  
"Well done, Uhrikel. I have been busy investigating the temporal disturbances we detected a few years ago. What I discovered was that those disturbances were birthed from another layer of reality, a relatively young one at that. I did not think that it was possible. Before the Almighty touched the world, all the layers were as one. However, none of us have been able to detect those other layers since the Fall, not since we returned from the Abyss after all these aeons. I was able to enter this layer, but it was heavily based upon electricity and computer data, which is why I needed the help of an Annunaki", replied a Neberu.  
  
"That would be where I come in," added Karash-Tu, "Lorinal had observed some children entering the layer by means of computers. They called that layer the Digital World. That was where he and other Neberu detected the temporal warp, and that is why it was necessary to investigate. We of the Third House did shape the very molecules of reality, so it wasn't difficult to deduce the mechanisms of this Digital World layer."  
  
"What did you find?"  
  
"The data had taken living form, analogous to flesh and blood, I suppose you could say. They had gained sentience and were able to evolve to higher levels, gaining power along the way. More importantly than that, these digimon, as they call themselves, formed not only from computer data, but from the belief of those children. They fed on the [i]faith[/i] of the humans. The entire layer is formed from data and human faith."  
  
"That is very curious. The mortals of this age are merely a tortured shadow of what they were in Edenic times, enfeebled by their own despair and cynicism. Yet somehow, the aggregate faith of these humans has been able to create a new layer of reality and life forms as well."  
  
"This occurrence would make Faustians and Luciferans proud, I'm sure."  
  
"Perhaps. Children are probably less prone to the banality that enshrouds humans of this age. However, even that innocence is fading in this time. These children that were partnered with these so-called digimon have particularly high faith. However, it is troubling. We have reason to believe that the formation of these digimon was not coincidental. One of those ancient monsters, the Earthbound who were once our fellows, may very well have been involved."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"We suspect that it was the Archduke who led the Silver Legion, our lieutenant."  
  
"Is he attempting to collect torrents of faith?"  
  
"We are not yet sure. We have yet to deduce that probability. What we do know based upon gleaned information is that Ichijouji Ken and another are crucial to this mystery. Both him and his partner who disappeared several years ago, Akiyama Ryou, the one who vanquished Milleniumon."  
  
"Twas this Milleniumon creature that was responsible for the temporal distortions, was it not?"  
  
"Indeed so. We believe that the creature may have been the work of the Archduke who once led us. Only we of the Fourth House have ever had such a mastery of time."  
  
"If so, this matter could lead to dire straits. We must act quickly."  
  
"I concur, but for now, we must wait. The gathering is complete. Ahrimal has arrived."  
  
Detective Gerhard Liebner teleported through the door and stood observing the gathering. He was truly the Neberu known as Ahrimal, Sower of Fearsome Stars. All those ages ago, it was Ahrimal who foresaw the Fall and the consequences. He had desperately tried to avoid the cataclysm, but did not realize that rebelling was in fact what would cause the Fall in the first place. It is a heavy burden that he and all Neberu carry.  
  
The other leader of the Cryptics, the Annunaki Gipontel, stepped forth.  
  
"Welcome, Ahrimal. It has been some time since last we convened. We have been investigating many cases and have acquired interesting information and knowledge as a result. Information that could help to answer our most fundamental questions."  
  
"Greetings, Gipontel. I have been investigating cases that involve those of our brethren who succumbed to their torment. I come to address a case of particular importance now. It is the issue of that temporal and spatial warp. Who were the ones examining that case?"  
  
"That would be those three. Lorinal, Uhrikel, and Karash-Tu"  
  
The three stepped forward.  
  
"Yes, Ahrimal, what would you like to know about the situation?"  
  
"What did you find? I conducted my own search and found that it was tied to an international circle of humans who belong to a cult dedicated to Asmodeus. They are the ones who manipulated the creation of that anomaly. They also influenced the formation of the digital layer. Not too long ago, they influenced the rise of the creature Belial Vamdemon. They forced all those children partnered with the digital life forms to pour in torrents of belief, of faith to defeat the creature. The children thought they won. That was only the tip of the iceberg, as those mortals would say. They never realized that all that faith was being siphoned and collected by the cult and offered to Asmodeus through rituals."  
  
"Then our suspicions have been confirmed. The entire layer was formed from computer data and human faith. The creatures that were spawned draw upon the faith of humans to evolve. Furthermore, it was Asmodeus who ultimately planned the creature's course. We suspected that he might somehow be trying to collect faith from these children, who have unusually high belief."  
  
"Be careful. What I found could lead to the answer of what Asmodeus is drawing so much faith for. If my thoughts are verified, then we are in dire straits indeed."  
  
"What exactly could Asmodeus be planning?"  
  
"Of that I am not entirely sure. However, we must thwart the plot. I suspect that it was set into motion millennia ago, and is finally bearing fruit. If Asmodeus succeeds, I have an uneasy feeling that all time could collapse and compress."  
  
"Ahrimal, do you know of one Ichijouji Ken and Akiyama Ryou?"  
  
"Yes. Those two are vital to the puzzle. They hold the key to stopping this, or perhaps merely accelerating it, depending on the choices that they make. They must be found and protected at all costs. They must learn of what they are involved in, so that they can make the right decisions before we all perish. From all accounts, they are both rather used to battles. Be careful, though. They are not what they seem. Somehow, their essence seems very familiar, but it's mired in the human personalities. When we see them face to face, we must determine the fact."  
  
"I learned from the spirit of Ken's brother that he is in Odaiba, Japan. I also gained insight into the boy's past."  
  
"However, locating Akiyama Ryou will be much more difficult. The creature dragged him into the warp. Who knows what layer of reality they are on now? Layers that we long ago lost the power to access."  
  
"Leave that to me. I have gathered the help of a secret, very technologically proficient organization. They will be able to tear open the fabric. I will be able to handle it from there, and direct the boy home. The young Ken will need his old partner by his side."  
  
"Thank you, Ahrimal. Then we had better leave immediately. Karash-Tu, Uhrikel, I will meet with you in Odaiba. From there, we will find the young boy before agents of the Earthbound or others with harmful intention can reach him. The success of this assignment depends on it."  
  
In a moment, all three Fallen left in their own way.  
  
"Gipontel, the usual information is in the packet. Profiles, names, celestial names. I have already given the true names to the Library. I will leave the rest here with you and the Library. Now I have to start on this assignment immediately."  
  
"Until next we meet."  
  
*************  
  
Note: Now the fun really begins. We get a hint that Ken and Ryou may not be what they seem. More than mere mortals perhaps? The next chapter will give a hint about that. Once again, please review. 


	3. Chapter 3

[i]"What troubles you?"  
  
"Do you ever wonder?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About the choice that we made. If it was the right one. Since the night that we revealed ourselves to the mortals and gave them the gift of sentience."  
  
"I admit that I, a Namaru, the Principality that Guides Those Without Light, have been having second thoughts about the path we chose."  
  
"We dared to rebel against the Almighty, violating his second edict in order to obey the first. To love humans as we love Him. That was why we chose to teach them the wonders of the universe, to reveal ourselves to them. Yet, the situation has only become increasingly worse as the centuries have passed. The layers of reality have fragmented. Humans have been cursed with mortality. Thanks to Cain, murder entered creation and filled us with terrible blood lust, thus truly beginning the War of Wrath. We have battled for nearly a millennium now, across time, space, and reality. Yet, our condition continues to deteriorate. Today, I saw that some mortals were even beginning to consider rejecting that which we offer them."  
  
"Ahrimal knew the effects of the Fall, but he couldn't foresee the cause. Like him, all of us are removed from the machine of fate. Who knows? Perhaps by rebelling, we brought about the disaster we tried to avert."  
  
"I know. At the time, I rallied to the Morningstar's side when he raised the banners of rebellion. One reason was that you felt it was the right thing to do. And also, because I am an Asharu, a Guardian, deliverer of the breath of life. We of the Second House are connected to mortals in a way that few others are. They are the center of our existence. I thought that perhaps I could help the mortals become so much more. So I, the Virtue of Restful Healing, rebelled for their sake. Yet now, I am afflicted with fear that we set upon the wrong course, that we are all doomed by the sins of mortals. I am afraid of what is to follow. That the worst is yet to come. I have tried voicing my concerns, but many of the others mock my words. Some even tried to destroy me, denouncing me as a traitor to the Cause, and they are Asharu like me. Nazriel merely cautioned me against speaking too loudly about such things. It deeply troubles me. If Ahrimal could sense the Fall, surely the Almighty would have detected it long ago? Why did he allow this to pass? And why did he allow us to manifest such an imperfection as rebelling against His will? Unless, this is all a part of the Most High's plan. What will become of us?"  
  
The Herald gave the Guardians's hand a light squeeze and pulled him into a gentle embrace, with the Asharu's head resting upon his shoulder.  
  
"Don't worry. Regardless of what happens, we will face it together. As long as we are together, I would not even be afraid to face Oblivion."  
  
"Promise me, that if we should ever be separated, we will find our way back to each other, no matter how long it takes."  
  
"I promise. Even if we are separated by layers of reality and for millennia, I will find my way back to you."  
  
Tomorrow would be a difficult campaign. They would probably have to retreat. But for now, the Namaru and Asharu rested their weary minds in one another's tenderness, enjoying a soft, gentle kiss.[/i]  
  
Note: Want to take a guess as to who the two characters in the dream are? I hope you enjoy it. 


End file.
